The Portland daily press., 1887-07-02
AN AMERICAN woMAN's JEWELS.
Mrs Stanford's Famous opaIs,
Which Formerly Belonged to EugenIe.

Among the many beautiful and costly
jewels belonging to American women there
are few which have any special history at
tached 70 them, and very few are heirlooms..
The few families who have heirloolns Of any
value in this country are generally people
too poor in other ways to be able to make a
display of them. But there are yet a few
which have histories worth telling, and
among them is set of opals belonging to
Mrs Leland Stanford. which she bought of
Bellezza, Genoese jeweller, who was in
Philadelphia at the Centennial Exhibition.
These jewels were not publicly displayed as
Bellezza had superstition about them and
would never put them in any case with other
jewels on account Of their former history.
They consisted of a pin and q pair of ear
rings of opals set round with brilliants. The
opal in the pin is over an inch long and
about two-thirds OF an inch across, being
oblong in form. Those in the earrings were
size of those in the brooch They all had
exactly the same milky blue lustre, and down
in the heart of each burned a fiery red spot
with such baleful maleyolent light that
it actually frightened the beholder. These
stones at an ordinary distance gave the us
ual lustre of these jewels, and it was only
when looked at closely that they had that
popularity. They were arranged so that
they could be worn as three pendants on a
chain or band Of velvet as well as in their
ordinary form. The brilliants around them
were about the size of small peas on the
brooch and large pinheads on the earrings.
They were shown Mrs. Stanford more as
curloslties than anything. else, but she was
instantly struck with their beauty and pc
culiarity and bought them, paying $1,000 for
them, and laughing at the thought of any
superstition regarding opals, although she
heard the story Of these.
The last owner before Mrs. Stanford of
these 0palS was the eX- Empress Eugenie.
They had been sent to her as present by
noble Spanish family whom she had greatly
aided IN time of their misfortunes. They
had been obliged to pawn these jewels with
many others which the the Empress's gen
erosity had enabled them to save. and she
received them, but never liked to wear them,
and Ii is said she never did aear them but
once During the time that these Jewels
were in the family of this Spanish nobleman
every misfortune that could follow one
seemed to have pursued them, until they
were almost reduced to beggary and several
of their family had died.
The story is that the Spanish nObleman
bonght them of 4 widowed friend, whose be-
reayement had been the result of a train of
miseries almost unheard Of. In her youth
this lady had been lady of honor to the
Empress OF Austria, and when she left that
court to be married these jewels were given
to her by the Empress, who had just bought
garian family who was reduced to this ex-
tremity. The jewels had beena bridal gift
from her husband and she had kept them un-
til hunger and destitution forced her sell
them 1t was through Baron Janus Won
Xanthus that the Empress of Austria heard
OF the sad case and finally bought the Jewels
Where they came from before this do not
know.
When the ex-Empress had to fly from
Paris these jewels, with flew others, were
hurriedly gathered by her faithful friends
and attendants, and saw and admired them
at Chiselhurst, where, owing to some certain
circumstances, passed two days and a night
but ! never expected to see them again.
Bellezza, the jeweller, is an Italian and
enjoys reputation very enviable among
Jewellers OF honesty and he had often had
dealings with the Empress while in the
zenith of her power, and after her sorrow
she turned to him as medium to dispose Of
much OF her jewelry in quiet manner,
which could not easily have been done either
In London or Paris. So Mile. de Larminat
and the Countess Clery made several visits
to Bellezza, taking him the jewels for sale,
and he managed it with caution and usually
good results. But no one would buy this set
OF jewels, and so they were brought here in
hopes of selling them to some one who had
no superstition on the subject, and Mrs
Stanford bought them.
AT the same time of the purchase of this
set OF jewels Mrs. Stanford bought of the
same jeweller magnificent necklace of dia-
monds and rubies, for which she paid nearly
$4,000, and pin and earrings made of pink
pearls, set with brilliants, representing moss
rosebuds. She gave about $1,000 for this set,
which was intended for present to some
relative.
Mrs. Stanford has many other jewels, but
none finer. In the necklace are one hundred
and thirty-fiye stones, of which forty-four
are rubies.